Toyota Urban Cruiser review

Like so many other manufacturers who don’t qualify for the Electric Car Grant, Toyota has had to react with its own discount. So your entry route into the Urban Cruiser with lower power and smaller battery is £28,495.

That’s for Icon trim, which comes with 18in alloys, the dual screens, a rear-view camera, a heat pump (for what little efficiency the car can actually achieve), adaptive cruise control, USB ports front and rear, and all the active driver aids. Likely to be a 120-mile car in winter. You don’t want that one.

Stepping up to Design trim for £32,960 unlocks the bigger battery and motor, as well as heated front seats and steering wheel, auto-folding heated mirrors, and a windscreen de-icer. Toasty.

Then you’ve got the top-of-the-range Excel model for £34,925. Here you get 19s, LED headlights with adaptive high beam, a 360-degree camera, a wireless charger for your phone, a fixed glass sunroof, a JBL sound system and the synthetic leather upholstery. You also get the option of a bi-tone paint finish.

Don’t tell me, the middle one is the best one.

You know it. Don’t commit to the smaller battery and all the compromise that comes with it, and don’t go for broke for a wireless charging pad. It ain’t wurf it.

Put up 10 per cent of the Design car’s value as a deposit, and Toyota will give you one for just under £400 per month over three years, assuming 10,000 miles of driving per year. 0 per cent APR too.

The Urban Cruiser is warrantied for 60,000 miles or three years, although the battery is guaranteed for 70 per cent capacity for up to 10 years or 650,000 miles. So if you end up doing 26 laps of the earth in one of these, do let us know how you get on.

Service intervals are every 10,000 miles, and it’ll tow up to 750kg.